Guard for musical instruments.



A. SHUTT.

r GUARD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

JAPPLIGATION FILED JUNE a, 1912.

Patented May 13, 1913.

/3 v 3mm/to@ COLUMNA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

ALBERT SHUTT, 0F TOPEKA, KANSAS.

GUARD FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 13, 1913.

Application filed .Tune 8, 1912. Serial No. 702,538.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT SHUTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Topeka, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Guards for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

An object of the invention is to provide a guard for musical instruments.

The invention embodies, among other features, a device more particularly adapted for use on musical instruments such as mandolins and like stringed instruments, the device being provided to protect the 'sounding board or face of the instrument from wear and tear and from becoming scratched by the fingers of the operator or the pick held in the fingers of the operator, while the inst-rument is being played.

In the, further disclosure of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings constituting a part of this specification in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding` parts in all the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a mandolin showing my device attached thereto; 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 2#2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the plate; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a mandolin showing a modified form of my device applied thereto, a plurality of guard plates being employed in this instance; and Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 5 5 in Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the views, I employ a guard plate 10 for attachment to the finger-board 11 of a mandolin 12, the finger-board 11 being spaced from the face or sounding-board 13 of the mandolin 12. The guard plate 10 is preferably made of an integral piece of material having an opening 14 which will be arranged above the usual f-hole provided in the sounding'- board 13 when the guard plate 10 is mounted therebetween, as shown in Fig. 1, a bracket 15 being mounted to extend from the under side of the guard plate 10 near the upper end thereof, the said guard plate bein provided with a laterally project-ing portion 16 having a cushion 17 on the under side thereof, the mentioned cushion 17 being preferably made of felt and adapted to repose upon the sounding-board 13 to support the upper end of the guard plate 10.

Adjacent the lower end of the guard plate 10, a post 18 is secured to depend from the under side of the guard plate, a cushion 19, preferably made of felt or the like, being secured to the under side of the said post and adapted to engage the sounding-board 13, the mentioned bracket 15 and post 18 being adaptedto support the' guard plate 10 on the instrument.

A plate 2OV is mounted to project beyond the inner edge of the guard plate 10, the said plate being secured to the under side of the guard plate and adapted to project beneath and engage the linger-board 11 `to prevent a vertical movement of the guard plate 10, the guard plate being of sufficient thickness so that the upper su-rface thereof will lie Hush with the upper surface of the finger board 11. Mounted to extend through an opening 22 in the bracket 15 is a rod 23 having a head 24 adapted to abut against a face of the bracket 15, the said rod being arranged to project beneath the finger-board 11 and having the free end thereof threaded and adapted to receive a clamping member 25, a thumb screw 27 having threaded connectionA with thel free end of the rod 23, with 'an end of the thumb screw engaging the clamping member 25 to secure the clamping member 25 in clamping position and rigidly clamp the guard plate 10 to a sideof the finger-board 11 as shown, the guard plate being suitably supported by the lateral portion 16 of the bracket 15 and the post 18, the plate 20 being provided to aid in retaining the guard plate in proper position relatively to the linger-board 11.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I disclose a modified form of my device `in which I employ a plurality of guard plates 28, 29, each of the said guard plates being provided with a post. 30, similar to the post 18, and a plate 31, similar to the plate 2O disclosed in the preferred form of my device. A bracket 32, similar to the bracket 15, is extended from the guard plate 28 and a similar bracket 33 is extended from the guard plate 29, a rod 34, similar to the rod 23, being mounted to extend through an opening in the bracket 32 and an opening in the bracket 33, thus clamping the guard plates 28, 29 rigidly on both sides of the finger-board 11 of the mandolin 12. It will be readily seen that in the modified form of my device I employ a plurality of guard plates, Whereas in the preferred form of the device only a single guard plate is employed, the guard plates in both forms of the device being substantially mounted in the same manner on the instrument.

It desirable, the guard described can be made of tortoise shell, celluloid, or Wood, and if desirable, even a metal can be employed to constitute the body of the device. With the use of the mentioned device the outer face of the sounding-board 13 Will be prevented from being scratched with the pick of the operator or by the fingers of the operator, and it will be readily seen that with a guard of the kind described, attached to an instrument such as a mandolin or other stringed instrument, the particular manner in Which the guard is mounted on the instrument Will permit of placing the instrument in a case Without loosening the guard. It is Well known that in the use of a large number of guards now on the commercial market and attached to instruments, the guards become loose by contact When the instruments are placed in the cases thereof, in View of the fact that these guards have connection With the outer edges of the instruments, Whereas in my device, by securing the guard Within the plane of the instrument, the instrument can be readily placed in the case -Without removing the guard or injuring the instrument.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In a guard for musical instruments including a sounding-board and a fingerboard thereon, the combination With a guard plate, of means for supporting the guard .plate on the sounding-board of the instrument with the edge of the guard plate iiush With the edge of the finger-board, and a clamp for rigidly clamping the said guard plate to the finger-board of the instrument.

2. In a guard for a musical instrument including` a sounding-board and a finger-board thereon, a plurality of guard plates, brackets support-ing the guard plates on the sounding-board With the faces of the guard plates flush with the face of the fingerboard, a rod connecting the said brackets, and means on the rod and engaging one of the brackets to rigidly clamp the said guard plates to the said finger-board.

3. A guard for a musical instrument including a sounding-board and a fingerboard, comprising a plurality of guard plates mounted on both sides of the fingerboard and supported on the soundingboard, a rod connecting the guard plates and means on the rod for rigidly clamping the guard plates to the linger-board.

el. In a guard for musical instruments including a sounding-board and a iingerboard thereon, the combination With a guard plate, of a bracket extended therefrom, a cushion on the said bracket and engaging the sounding-board of the instrument, a post depending from the said guard plate, a cushion on the said post and engaging the sounding-board of the instrument, a plate ext-ended from the said guard plate to engage the finger-board of the instrument, a rod mounted to extend through the said bracket, a clamping member having the said rod extending therethrough, and a thumb screw having threaded connection with the rod and engaging the said clamping member to clamp the said guard plate to the finger-board of the instrument.

5. In a guard for musical instruments including a sounding-board `and a ngerboard thereon, the combination With a guard plate, of a bracket depending therefrom, a post depending from thesaid guard plate, cushions on the said bracket and the said post and engaging the sounding-board of the instrument to support the said guard plate, a clamping member, and means connecting the said clamping member with the said guard plate for rigidly clamping the said guard plate to the finger-board of the instrument.

6. In a guard for musical instruments including a sounding-board and a fingerboard thereon, the combination with a plurality of guard plates, of means on the said guard plates for supporting the same on the sounding-board of the instrument, a rod connecting the said guard plates, and means on the said rod for clamping the guard vplates to the finger-board of the instrument.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of tvvo Witnesses.

ALBERT SHUTT.

Vitnesses:V

E. O. COBLENTZ, M. E. URIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents eac-h, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

